Memories
by storiesofamind
Summary: It's thirty degrees outside. Much too hot to be wearing a long shirt but she doesn't care. It's the only thing of his he left behind. She's curled up on the faded green arm chair.


**A little oneshot that I wrote one night. Sorry about the temp thing but I'm Australian so we tell time by Celsius Degrees here. If you want you can figure it out yourself. (: I own the plot but nothing else. (:**

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><p>It's thirty degrees outside. Much too hot to be wearing a long shirt but she doesn't care. It's the only thing of his he left behind. She's curled up on the faded green arm chair. There's only ever enough room for one so she would normally sit on his lap but he's gone. He's not here. She's sweating like a pig. The air conditioner is on to keep her cool but it's not doing much. The same thing just keeps running through her mind.<p>

"_Rachel!" he screams. She can see the hurt in his eyes from her accusation. It reflects the same look she'd given him not ten minutes ago when he suggested the same thing she was now suggestion. "I'm not like that! You know that?"_

"_Ha!" Rachel scoffs in reply. "You've done it before. Why wouldn't you do it again?"_

"_Rachel," he drags a hand down his face in exasperation, "that wasn't even to you. Rachel, stop it! It isn't fair that you're doing this to me! Okay? Just stop it!"_

"_So it was fair that you did it to me then?" Rachel asks, hands now positioned firmly on her hips. Finn looks at her with guilt written across his face. Rachel doesn't falter in her piercing glare._

"_You know that's not what I'm saying,"_

"_Really? Because it seems to me that's exactly what you're saying,"_

"_Rach, baby," Finn steps forward with his arms spread out. Rachel takes a step back from him and Finn's arms fall to his side. "Baby –"_

"_Don't! Don't baby me, Finn Hudson. Just don't."_

"_Rachel. Rachel, I'm sorry. I know you'd never cheat on me. Not with Sam. Not with Puckerman. Not with anyone. Just... I'm sorry,"_

"_No." Rachel still doesn't believe him. She can't believe he'd accuse her of something like that. Ever. Especially with Sam. No. He's right. She'd never cheat on him with Sam or Puckerman or anyone. But he cheated on Quinn with her. He's a cheater. "Get out!" She points at the door. Finn doesn't move so she screams again. "Pack up your shit and go! Get. Out!"_

"_You don't mean it, Rach." Finn begs as he moves to the door. "You don't mean it."_

"_You're right." Rachel states bluntly. "In the morning I'll probably regret it. All of it. But right now I can't stand to look at you. Just leave."_

"_Fine." Finn pushes through the door to the bedroom and moves to the wardrobe. He throws a suitcase on the ground and begins to throw his clothes into it. Then he throws his personal belongings and a few choice photos and cards. Rachel watches all this from the door. She begins to regret telling him to leave. Finn pushes past her and through to the front door of their apartment._

"_Wait!" Rachel calls. Finn ignores her and keeps going. Rachel calls to him again. "Wait! Don't go."_

"_You told me to leave, Rachel. I'm going!" Finn replies flatly. Rachel stands with her mouth hanging open. Tears are trailing down her face and she can see the teary glint in Finn's eyes as he tells her he's going to leave. Rachel shakes her head._

"_If you walk out that door," she says, "you're never coming back."_

"_Then," Finn says with tears coming down his face and one foot out the door, "I guess I'm never coming back." _

She snaps back to reality. She doesn't want to remember his figure skulking through the hall to the lift. She can hear the soft hum of the television in the background but she's not watching it. She's staring at the photo she can see behind the television. They're in Chicago for Nationals and everyone's out sightseeing. She has ice cream squished on her cheek and he's trying to lick it off her face. Santana took that photo. It's one of her favourites.

"_Santana?" Finn calls to the Latina girl ahead. Santana whips around and scowls at Finn._

"_What do you want Frankeinteen?" she asks. Brittany stops ahead and then calls for the rest of the group. _

"_Take our photo?"_

"_Whatever." Finn hands over his camera and then runs a distance back to his brunette girlfriend. He shoves his ice cream in her face and then attempts to lick it off. Rachel's laughing and Santana picks that moment to take the snapshot. She's laughing too. "Here, Frankeinteen. It's cute,"_

She remembers Quinn's death stares that day. She'd not long found out about their fooling around. She felt bad. She still feels bad for the way that Quinn found out about them. The screaming was unbearable. She lets her walls down and her memories flood in.

"_Finn," Rachel giggles as he kisses her ear lobe. "This is dangerous. People could walk in here,"_

"_Relax Rach. No one's coming. It's just us," Finn assures her. Rachel stands up on her tippy toes and Finn wraps his arms around her waist, pulling him to her. He leans down and places his lips against hers. Rachel responds instantly and reaches up higher on her toes, her hand snaking its way to his neck. "I love you,"_

"_Mmm," she replies. "I still wish we could tell people, you know?"_

"_I know baby, but Quinn's... she's not stable. You would know. Look at me the wrong way and then you're screwed," Finn replies. Rachel nods her head slowly and fingers the light bruise under her eye from Quinn's brutal slap. She reaches up and kisses Finn again just as a loud bang comes from the door._

"_Oh, my god!" Quinn exclaims as she watches the two in the middle of an intimate kiss. "Oh my god."_

"_Quinn, this isn't what it looks like," Finn says. Rachel jabs him in the ribs with her elbow and he buckles over just a tiny bit. _

"_Quinn, it was my entire fault. I ambushed him and kissed him. Finn had nothing to do with it," Rachel says. She knows that Quinn will probably try another one of her tricks on Rachel. Maybe throw a punch or slap her again. She doesn't care about that. She wants to protect Finn from her._

"_You scheming little bitch! You attack my boyfriend again and again! Have you not learnt anything from the last time?" Quinn steps forward, fists poised for impact. "How many times do I have to hit you before you get it through your thick skull that Finn is mine?"_

"_Stop, Quinn! Just stop!" Finn yells at her. "Don't take this out on Rachel. How long did you think you could hold onto me for exactly Quinn? Wasn't this entire relationship pointless in the first place? You had to know that sooner or later I'd end up with Rachel again because I loveher. I've always loved her."_

"_No. No, no, no. You love me. You told me you loved me. Finn, you told me you loved me." Quinn says. She steps towards Rachel again but Finn moves in her way. "She hurt you and that's why you came back to me. Because you were so disgusted in her and..."_

"_I don't love you Quinn. I don't. I'm sorry but you were a mistake and I shouldn't have started something with you,"_

"_How... how long has this been going on?"_

"_A few months," Rachel speaks up. Quinn looks at her. Tears stain her cheeks but she doesn't say anything. She turns. She runs. The door slams shut and Rachel looks up into Finn's eyes. She snuggles into his chest and breathes in his scent. "I told you so,"_

Rachel spies the paper on the table near her. She can see the names clearly on the paper. She looks away. Everything she thinks about him makes her hurt even more. He plagues her thoughts. She's still burning up. She thinks the air conditioner is broken. She's still burning up like there's no tomorrow. The paper nags at the back of her mind.

"_What about girls?" Rachel asks. Their planning names for their kids. A secret delight of Finn's. He looks up from where he's writing down the names Christopher Mike and Sam Noah._

"_Well, what did you have in mind?" he asks her. Rachel smiles._

"_I always liked the name Rosemarie,"_

"_Me too," Finn agrees instantly and then the perfect name enters his mind. He can barely contain his excitement. "What about Rosemarie Tina?"_

"_It's perfect!" Rachel exclaims. "And Santana Lauren?"_

"_Santana baby?"_

"_Yeah. I mean, Santana's a bitch but her name is so beautiful. I love her name,"_

"_Santana Lauren it is!"_

There's a click in the door and then the knob is turning. She looks up from the picture she's been staring at for an hour and is surprised to see the giant figure in front of her. His cheeks are tear stained and he's soaking wet from the hot summer rain that's falling down outside. His suitcase is on the ground hanging half open. He climbs onto the arm chair and she wiggles around so she's sitting on top of him. He breathes in the scent of hair. Strawberries.

"Hey," he says, "you're wearing my shirt."

"Yeah," she says. She gives him a weak smile. "I guess I am,"

"You hate that shirt,"

"I thought you were really gone," she sobs into his chest. His own tears fall into her hair as he struggles to keep composed for his whimpering girlfriend. He's wrapped with guilt for even walking out the door but that's the way it is with them. They fight, they say things they regret, they do things they regret but they love each other so completely that they'll never leave.

"I'll never be gone Rachie. Never," he says. She looks up at him, nodding her head.

"I know,"

"Baby," he says, "I love you so much. I'd never..."

"I know, Finn. I'm sorry,"

"And I'm sorry. I know you'd never go there. Especially with Sam. God. I'm sorry,"

"It's okay, baby," she says. She places her lips on his. It's barely a kiss but it's still a kiss and he loves it. He loves everything about her. Even the selfish, obnoxious bits because that's her. if he didn't love her wholly then he wouldn't really love her. "I love you,"

"I love you too my beautiful star. I love you so much,"

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><p><strong>Reviews!<strong>


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